Amarnath shrine not declared as silent zone, Clarifies NGT

The green tribunal headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said the only restriction is that devotees will maintain silence in front of Shivlinga, not applicable to any other part.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday issued a clarification on the Amarnath matter saying it’s not declared a ‘silence zone’, and that silence restriction will not apply on Aarti and other rituals, as reported by a news agency. The green tribunal headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said the only restriction is that devotees will maintain silence in front of Shivlinga, not applicable to any other part.The Amarnath cave shrine is considered one of the major holy shrines by the Hindus. The cave itself is covered with snow most of the year barring a short period of time in summer when it is opened for pilgrims.

On Wednesday, an NGT bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar had banned the chanting of mantras at Amarnath temple and issued a slew of orders to be implemented by the Amarnath Shrine Board. The directions come after the green court rapped the Amarnath Shrine Board last month for failing to provide adequate infrastructure facilities to pilgrims and asked it to submit a status report on the same in the first week of December.

The green tribunal also said there should be no ringing of bells in the cave temple, situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres in J&K, and pilgrims would have to deposit all mobiles and belongings at the last check post. The tribunal asked the shrine authorities to consider building a separate room where people could keep their belongings.